The Simpson Desert Important Bird Area comprises some 22,848 km² of land within the

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Deserts of Australia, Australian desert, with an area of . The desert ...

in south-western Queensland and north-eastern South Australia. It consists of five large contiguous reserves subject to little grazing pressure and good habitat management that are either known, or likely, to provide suitable habitat for

Eyrean grasswren The Eyrean grasswren (''Amytornis goyderi'') is a small grasswren from the Passerine family Maluridae. This is a cryptically plumaged and uncommon bird endemic to arid regions of Central Australia. The species was discovered by F.W. Andrews i ...

Description

The extent of IBA overlaps land including the following

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

and privately held reserves: the

Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park, part of which was formerly Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert Conservation Park, Simpson Desert Conservation Park, and Simpson Desert National Park, is a protected area located in the far north of the Aust ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

; the Munga-Thirri National Park in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

; the Bush Heritage reserves of Ethabuka and Cravens Peak; and the

North Australian Pastoral Company The North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCO) is a large, privately owned, Australian cattle company which operates 13 cattle stations (as well as the Wainui farm and feedlot) covering over 60,000 km2, managing about 200,000 cattle, in Que ...

-managed Mulligan River Nature Refuge in Queensland. The site contains parts of the spasmodically flooded

Channel Country The Channel Country is a region of outback Australia mostly in the state of Queensland but also in parts of South Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. The name comes from the numerous intertwined rivulets that cross the region ...

, intergrading into gidgee

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s and tall

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...

. Other landforms include mesas, escarpments, gorges, gibber plains,

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

fields,

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

clay pans, semi-permanent waterholes, and

artesian Artesian may refer to: * Someone from the County of Artois * Artesian aquifer, a source of water * Artesian Builds, a former computer building company * Artesian, South Dakota, United States * Great Artesian Basin, Australia * The Artesian Hotel ...

springs. The climate is hot and

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...

; in the south of the site, temperatures may exceed 50 °C in summer with average annual rainfall less than 150 mm.

Criteria for nomination as an IBA

The

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) has been identified as such by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports a large population of Eyrean grasswrens as well as small numbers of

plains-wanderer The plains-wanderer (''Pedionomus torquatus'') is a bird, the only representative of family Pedionomidae and genus ''Pedionomus''. It is endemic to Australia. The majority of the remaining population is found in the Riverina region of New So ...

s. It also contains good numbers of

grey falcon The grey falcon (''Falco hypoleucos'') is a medium-sized falcon native to Australia, possibly the rarest. It is uncommon throughout its range and is currently classified as Vulnerable. Taxonomy The description of the species was published by ...

Australian bustard The Australian bustard (''Ardeotis australis'') is a large ground dwelling bird which is common in grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It stands at about high, and its wingspan is ...

inland dotterel The inland dotterel (''Peltohyas australis'') is an endemic bird of the arid Australian interior. It forms loose flocks in sparsely vegetated gibber plain and claypans in the day where it loafs in the shade and eats shoots of shrubs. It is most o ...

banded whiteface The banded whiteface (''Aphelocephala nigricincta'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to dryer regions of Australia. The ornithologist Alfred John North described the banded whiteface as ''Xerophila nigricincta'' in ...

s, grey-headed,

grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and

pied honeyeater The pied honeyeater (''Certhionyx variegatus'') is a species of bird in the family of honeyeaters Meliphagidae and the sole species in the genus '' Certhionyx'' (Christidis & Boles 2008). This species is also known as the black and white honeyeat ...

gibberbird The gibberbird (''Ashbyia lovensis'') is a species of chat within the passerine birds. Taxonomy This species, also formerly known as the desert chat, is endemic to Australia and the only species within the genus ''Ashbyia''.Pizzey, Graham; Doyle ...

s, chirruping and

chiming wedgebill The chiming wedgebill (''Psophodes occidentalis''), sometimes referred to as chiming whipbird, is a species of bird in the family Psophodidae. It is endemic to Australia. The chiming wedgebill and chirruping wedgebill (''Psophodes occidentalis'') ...

cinnamon quail-thrush The cinnamon quail-thrush (''Cinclosoma cinnamomeum'') is cryptic arid-zone species that is endemic to Australia. This small to medium-sized species of bird is found in the arid and semi-arid regions of central Australia. Taxonomy This species ...

es and

painted finch The painted finch (''Emblema pictum'') is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia. The painted finch acquired its name due to the red and white spotted and mottled underparts of both males and females. The binomial comes from embl ...

es.

References

Important Bird Areas of Queensland Important Bird Areas of South Australia Lake Eyre basin Central West Queensland Far North (South Australia) {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub

Description

Criteria for nomination as an IBA

See also

References